Measurement invariance and group differences of the Adolescent Time Attitude Inventory: A multi-group comparison...

Time attitude is a key psychological construct implicated in adolescent development. Valid measurement across diverse groups is essential for meaningful comparisons. This study aimed to test the measurement invariance of the Adolescent Time Attitude Inventory (ATAI) across gender, school stage (junior high school, senior high school, vocational high school), and time in a large Chinese adolescent sample, and compare group differences in time attitudes on the basis of established invariance. A total of 5605 adolescents (M_age = 15.37, SD = 1.535) completed the ATAI. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and multi-group CFA were conducted to evaluate the six-factor model and test for configural, metric, and scalar invariance. The results showed that the six-factor model demonstrated good fit. Full measurement invariance was supported across gender, school stage, and time. In terms of group differences, males scored significantly higher than females on the Past Positive, Present Positive, and Future Positive dimensions, while females scored higher on the Past Negative dimension. Vocational high school students obtained significantly lower scores on the three positive time attitude dimensions and significantly higher scores on the three negative dimensions compared to junior high school and senior high school students. Junior high school students exhibited higher Present Positive and lower Present Negative scores than senior high school students. This study confirms that the ATAI exhibits good measurement invariance across genders, school stages, and time, and the revealed group differences provide empirical evidence for implementing targeted psychological education and interventions.